Toy watches



Jan. 5, 1960 A. G. EICHHOLZ TOY WATCHES Filed June a, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet FIG. 3

Z Ra mm mm mE c T s U G U A AT T Y.

Jan. 5, 1960 A. s. EICHHOLZ 2,919,538

TOY WATCHES Filed June 8, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet z ll 7 1| I I I FIG- 8 l II 5| 1 as 49 I 35-I 52 5e 55 FIG. 9 36 I INVENTOR. AUGUST G. EICHHOLZFIG. IO

. ATTORNEY United States Patent TOY WATCHES August G. Eichholz, St.Louis, Mo.

Application June 8, 1956, Serial No. 590,277

11 Claims (Cl. '58106) This invention relates in general to certain newand useful improvement in toy motors adapted for use in toy watches andother similar objects requiring an inexpensive compact power-sourcewhich can be wound up by the user and will deliver the stored energyover a predetermined period of time.

The average child usually desires some type of a plaything which iscapable of simple motor-driven mechanical movement. For example, mostchildren like to own a toy Watch which could be Wound up by a simulativewatch stem very much in the manner of a genuine watch and would tickaway for a substantial number of seconds after the stem has beenreleased or the winding completed.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to providea motor or mechanical movement which is particularly adapted forincorporation in a toy such as a childs toy watch and which may be woundup so as to release itsenergy slowly over a protracted period of time tothe accompaniment of ticking noises or sounds similar in character tothose emitted by real watches or clocks.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a motor fortoys such as a toy watch which is capable of being wound up by a sternvery much in the manner of a real watch and will, when the stem isreleased, deliver mechanical power for a predetermined interval.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toy watchof the type stated which is rugged and durable and will withstand thetype of abuse to which children ordinarily subject their playthings.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a toy motor ofthe type stated which is simple and economical in construction and canbe manufactured at relatively low cost so that it may be sold wellwithin the range of modest retail price usually associated withchildrens toys and playthings.

It is, furthermore, an object of the present invention to provide a toywatch having a windable tick-emitting mechanical movement which is alsocapable of imparting motion to component parts in the production of somevisual or visible effect, such as the winking of an eye or the waving ofan arm of a figure or character painted on the watchdial.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view ofa toy watch construction in accordance with and embodying the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the motor frame;

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 are fragmentary sectional views taken,respectively, along lines 33, 4-4, S5, and 6-6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified form 2,919,538 PatentedJan. 5, 1960 2 of a toy watch constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure7, and

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of Figure 8.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing,which illustrates practical embodiments of the present invention, Adesignates a toy watch comprising a preferably rectangular stamped metaltop housing or shell 1 provided along its opposite transverse marginwith longitudinally projecting pairs of ears 2 for receivingconventional strap-retaining pins 3 by which wrist straps 4, 4', areheld in place. The shell 1 integrally includes longitudinal side walls5, 5, the latter being centrally provided with a U-shaped slot 6extending upwardly from its lower margin. Provided for snug-fittingtelescoped disposition within the shell 1 is a motor frame 7 having aflat bottom wall 8 and longitudinally extending side walls 9, 9', theformer being centrally provided with a U-shaped slot 10 extendingdownwardly from its upper margin for registration with the slot 6. Therespective lengths of the slots 6, 10, are such that the straightportions thereof will overlap and extend beyond each other and togetherwill define a substantially circular aperture for purposes presentlymore fully appearing.

Securely attached to the wall 9 is a bracket 11 which is provided tohold a spring-leaf flapper 12 formed preferably of synthetic plastic orother similar resilient material. Similarly attached to the wall 9 is abracket 13 which is provided with a flapper 14, substantially similar inshape and construction to the flapper 12. It will be noted by referenceto Figure 2 that the brackets 11 and 13 are preferably located atdiagonally opposite corners of the motor frame 7 and the flappers 12 and14 extend in upwardly spaced parallel relationship to the bottom 8,terminating at their free ends adjacent to the transverse center line ofthe motor frame 7.

Extending along the transverse center line of the frame 7 is a shaft 15which is journaled at one end in a bearingforming ear 16 mountedcentrally along the wall 9. At its other end the shaft 15 is preferablysharpened or pointed and at such end passes through a relatively thickor substantial rubber disk or membrane 17 which is securely fastened tothe inner end face of which stem 18 having a tubular shank 19 extendingthrough the opening formed by the slots 6 and 10. At its outer end theshank 19 is integrally provided with a knurled knob or crown 20 by whichthe watch stem can be manually rotated. Rigidly fixed upon the shank 19inwardly of the wall 9 is a gear or star wheel 21 meshing with the freeend of the flapper 12.

Likewise fastened upon the shaft 15 inwardly from the projecting ear 16is a similar star wheel or gear wheel 21' meshing against the free endof the flapper 14. Said shaft 15 is further provided at its center witha concentric disk '22 having a hooked slot 23 for engaging a rubber bandor similar flexible member 24 which is also looped around two hooks 25,25', located in spaced parallel relationship along one transverse edgeof motor frame 7 as best seen in Figure 2.

In use, the child may wind up the watch A, so to speak, by turning thecrown 20 with an uni-directional winding movement. The flapper 12prevents the stem 13 from turning in the reverse direction and alsoproduces an audible clicking sound which simulates the sound of aconventional watch. Because the point of the shaft 15 has been pushedforcibly through the rubber disk 17 there will be sufiicient frictionalengagement between the rubber disk 17 and the shaft so that the windingmovement of the crown will cause the shaft 15 to rotate and this willresult in the rotation of the slotted circular disk 22, causing therubber band 24 to wind around the shaft 15. The winding movement of thecrown 20 will further cause the star wheels 21 and 21 to rotate againstthe free ends of the flappers 12 and .14, producing a desirable anddefinitely audible clicking sound. When the winding movement iscompleted, and the child releases the crown 20, the rubber band 24 willhave been wound up or coiled around the shaft 15 as shown in Figure 2and will, of course, tend to unwind and rotate the shaft 15 in theopposite direction to the direction of rotation with which it 'was woundup. This unwinding force, so to speak, would ordinarily tend to rotatethe crown 20 and its associate stem 18 and tubular shank 19 in this samereverse direction but the amount of frictional resistance imposed by theflapper 12 against the star wheel 21 is relatively much greater than theresilient binding or gripping engagement between the rubber disk 17 andthe shaft 15. Consequently the star wheel 21, stem 18, shank 19 andcrown 2% will remain stationary while the shaft slowly slips rotativelywithin the rubber disk 17. In other words, while the crown 20 and itsassociated parts remain stationary, the tension placed on the rubberband 24, will cause slippage within the frictional engagement betweenthe rubber disk 17 and the shaft 15 so that the shaft 15 will slowlyrevolve in a reverse direction as the rubber band 24 unwinds. The starwheel 21' slowly revolves also while meshing with the flapper 14 therebyproducing a slow measured ticking sound closely resembling the normalticking sound of a genuine Watch.

As will be readily evident, the rubber band 24 is cap'able of winding uparound the shaft 15 for a substantial number of turns and thus willstore a suflicient amount of energy so that the unwinding and tickingaction will last for an appreciable number of seconds and will, in amanner of speaking, give a sufficiently prolonged audible effect so thatthe child will have a feeling that the toy watch A is ticking just likea genuine watch.

It should also be noted in this connection that the toy watch A issubstantially foolproof in its operation, inasmuch as it cannot beoverwound to such a degree as would tend to break the rubber band 24.Whenever the child has wound up the Watch as tightly as the elasticlimits of the rubber band 24 will permit and the rubber band 24 tends toapproach its breaking point, the amount of force required to continueturning of the knurled head 20 will be greater than the amount offrictional force between the rubber plate 17 and the shaft 15, so thatthe shaft 15 will slip with respect to the rubber plate 17 and nofurther winding action will be transmitted to the shaft 15 to imposeadditional stretch on the rubber band 24. Finally, if, after long usage,the rubber band wears out and does break it is relatively easy for thechilds parents or an older sister or brother to take the toy watch Aapart and replace the rubber band in substantially the same manner as itwas originally installed.

If desired, a modified form of toy watch B, essentially similar to thepreviously described watch A, comprises a case having sidewalls 31, 32,endwalls 33, 34, and a removable back having a peripheral flange 36which tightly engages the sidewalls 31, 32, and endwalls 33, 34.Rotatably mounted in the sidewall 31 is a watch stem 37 comprising atubular shank 38 provided at its outer end with a knob or crown 39. Atits inner end the shank 38 is provided with a ratchet-wheel 40 havingteeth 41 which engage a flapper 42 fastened at its end to a boss 43formed on the sidewall 31. Suitably held upon the inwardly presentedface of the ratchet wheel 40, as by means of a clip 44, is a rubber diskor membrane 45 which extends closure wise across an axial bore 46 in theinner end of the shank 38.

Journaled at one end in a bracket 47 fastened upon the inner face of thesidewall 32 is a shaft 48, the other end of which is pointed andforcibly inserted through the disk 45 so as to be encircled andfrictionally gripped thereby. Rigidly mounted upon the shaft 48 inwardlyof the ratchet-wheel 40 is a star-wheel 49 having relatively long teeth5i) which engage the free end of an auxiliary flapper 51 also mounted onthe boss 43. The star-wheel 49 also engages a felt ring 52 adhesivelysecured upon the downwardly presented face of a rotary disk 53 having astub-shaft 54 journaled in and extending through the top wall 55 of thecase 30. At its outer end the stub-shaft 54 is provided with a so-calledsweep second hand 56 located between a bezel 57 and a numbered dial 58conventionally forming the upwardly presented face of the Watch B. Ifdesired, dummy hands 59, 60, can be provided to simulate the hour andminute hands of a conventional watch.

Rigidly fastened to the shaft 48 is a hook 61 which engages a rubberband 62, the latter also being looped around hooks 63, 64, formed on theendwalls 33, 34, and hook 65 formed on sidewall 32. Thus, when the watchstem 37 is manually rotated, the rubber band 62 will wind up around theshaft 48 substantially in the same manner as previously described inconnection with the watch A. When fully wound and released, the rubberband 62 will unwind slowly against the frictional retardation imposed ofthe shaft 48 by the rubber disk 45 and the star-wheel 49 will rotate thedisk 53 and the associated sweep second hand 56 with an accompanyingticking sound emitted by the flapper 51. Of course, the sweep secondhand 56 will turn in the other direction as the watch stem 37 is woundup, so to speak, but this movement, while not conforming to theoperation of a conventional watch, nevertheless, has definite appeal orplay value for children.

It should be understood in this connection that the above describedmechanism is not necessarily limited to toy watches, but may be appliedto various other typ'es of toys requiring similar motivation, and itshould, also, be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of thepresent invention may be made and substituted for those herein shown anddescribed without departing from the nature and principle thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what -I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

l. A motor for toy watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft operatively mounted in the easing, shaft-operating means mountedon said casing and projecting externally thereof, said shaft-operatingmeans being operatively associated with the shaft by which the shaft maybe manually turned, an elastic element secured to said shaft-operatingmeans, said shaft extending bodily through the elastic element wherebythe elastic element will grip the shaft annularly due to normalcontraction for frictional engagement therewith so that when saidshaft-operating means is manually rotated the elastic element will ineffect attach itself to the shaft for rotation therewith and therebyrotate the shaft, a resilient band looped around and attached to theshaft and also attached to the casing so that as the shaft is rotated bysaid shaft-operating means the band will coil itself up around the shaftinto a plurality of stretched substantially circular turns, means withinthe casing for holding the shaft-operating means stationary when manualrotation is discontinued, the frictional engagement between the elasticelement and the shaft being of such nature that when the shaft-operatingmeans is held stationary after the band is wound into a series ofstretched convolutions the shaft will operatively slip with respect tothe elastic element and the resilient band will unwind itself pro ducingrotation of said shaft, and means within the casing actuable responsiveto the rotation of the shaft for producing mechanical movement.

2. A motor for toy watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft operatively mounted in the casing, shaft-operating means mountedon said casing and including a knurled knob extending externally of thecasing, said shaft-operating means being operatively associated with theshaft by which the shift may be manually turned, an elastic elementsecured to said shaftoperating means, said shaft extending bodilythrough the elastic element whereby the elastic element will grip theshaft annularly due to normal contraction for frictional engagementtherewith so that when said knob is manually rotated the elastic elementwill in effect attach itself to the shaft for rotation therewith andthereby rotate the shaft, a resilient band looped around and attached tothe shaft and also attached to the casing so that as the shaft isrotated by said knob the band will coil itself up around the shaft intoa plurality of stretched substantially circ'ular turns, means withinthe'casing for holding the knob stationary when manual rotation isdiscontinued, the frictional engagement between the elastic element andthe shaft being of such nature that when the knob is held stationaryafter the band is wound into a series of stretched convolutions theshaft will operatively slip with respect to the elastic element and theresilient band will unwind itself causing the shaft to rotate in thereverse direction with respect to the direction it was rotated as aresult of manual actuation of the knob, and means within the casingactuable responsive to the rotation of the shaft for producingmechanical movement.

3. A toy watch comprising a hollow casing, a shaft operatively mountedin the casing, shaft-operating means mounted on said casing andprojecting externally thereof,

said shaft operating means being operatively associated with the shaftby which the shaft may be manually turned, an elastic element secured tosaid shaft-operating means, said shaft extending bodily through theelastic element whereby the elastic element will grip the shaftannularly due to normal contraction for frictional engagement therewithso that when said shaft operating means is manually rotated the elasticelement will in effect attach itself to the shaft for rotation therewithand thereby rotate the shaft, a resilient band looped around andattached to the shaft and also attached to the casing so that as theshaft is rotated by said shaft operating means the band will coil itselfup around the shaft into a plurality of stretched substantially circularturns, means within the casing for holding the shaft-operating meansstationary when manual rotation is discontinued, the frictionalengagement between the elastic element and the shaft being of suchnature that when the shaft operating means is held stationary after theband is wound into a series of stretched convolutions the shaft willoperatively slip with respect to the elastic element and the resilientband will unwind itself producing rotation of the shaft, and meanswithin the casing actuable responsive to the rotation of the shaft forproducing mechanical movement.

4. A motor for toy Watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft journaled in and extending across the casing, a knob mounted inand projecting outwardly from the casing, an elastic element securedupon the interior end face of the knob and frictionally engaged with theshaft so that when the knob is manually rotated the elastic element willrotatethe shaft, a toothed Wheel rigidly mounted on the knob, a flexiblespring-like blade rigidly mounted on one end within the casing andhaving its free end engaged with the toothed wheelf or holding the shaftstationary when manually applied rotative effort ceases, a rubber bandlooped around and attached to the shaft, said band also beingstationarily attached to the casing whereby the band will coil itselfaround the shaft when the latter is manually rotated, the frictionalengagement between the shaft and the elastic element being such thatwhen the knob is held stationary the shaft will slip with respect to theelastic element whereupon the rubber band will unwind itself and by suchunwinding action produce rotative movement of the shaft in the reversedirection, a toothed member rigidly mounted on the shaft, and ablade-like flapper mounted at one end in the casing and engaged at itsfree end in the toothed member whereby the flapper is moved by thetoothed member to cause said flapper to strike thereagainst and producea ticking sound as the shaft is rotated.

5. A motor for toy watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft operatively mounted in the casing, shaft-operating means mountedon and projecting externally of the casing and operatively associatedwith the shaft by which the shaft may be manually turned, an elasticelement secured to said means, said shaft extending bodily through theelastic element whereby the elastic element will grip the shaftannularly due to normal contraction for frictional engagement therewithso that when said shaft operating means is manually rotated the elasticelement will in effect attach itself to the shaft for rotation therewithand thereby rotate the shaft, a resilient band looped around andattached to the shaft and also attached to the casing so that as theshaft is rotated by said shaft-operating means the band will coil itselfup around the shaft into a plurality of stretched substantially circularturns, ratchet means within the easing, means within the casingcooperatively engaging the ratchet means for holding the shaft-operatingmeans stationary when manual rotation is discontinued, the frictionalengagement between the elastic element and the shaft being of suchnature that when the shaft-operating means is held stationary after theband is wound into a series of stretched convolutions the shaft willoperatively slip with respect to the elastic element and the band willunwind itself, and means within the casing actuable reponsive to therotation of the shaft for producing mechanical movement.

6. A motor for toy watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft operatively mounted in the casing, a shaft-like member rotatablymounted in and extending outwardly from the casing in co-axial alignmentwith the shaft, a knurled knob mounted on the shaft-like memberexternally of the casing by which the shaft-like member may be manuallyturned, an elastic element secured to said shaft-like member, said shaftextending bodily through the elastic element whereby the elastic elementwill grip the shaft annularly due to normal contraction for frictionalengagement therewith so that when said knob is manually rotated theelastic element will in effect attach itself to the shaft for rotationtherewith and thereby rotate the shaft, a resilient band looped aroundand attached to the shaft and also attached to the casing so that as theshaft is rotated by said knob the band will coil itself up around theshaft into a plurality of stretched substantially circular turns, meanswithin the casing for holding the shaft-like member stationary whenmanual rotation is discontinued, the frictional engagement between theelastic element and the shaft being of such nature that when theshaft-like member is held stationary after the band is wound into aseries of stretched convolutions the shaft will operatively slip withrespect to the elastic element and the band will unwind itself, andmeans within the casing actuable responsive to the rotation of the shaftfor producing mechanical movement.

7. A motor for toy watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft operatively mounted in the easing, shaft operating means mountedon and projecting externally of the casing and operatively associatedwith the shaft by which the shaft may be manually turned, an elasticelement secured to said means, said shaft extending bodily through theelastic element whereby the elastic element will grip the shaftannularly due to normal contraction for frictional engagement therewithso that when said shaft operating means is manually rotated the elasticelement will in effect attach itself to the shaft for rotation therewithand thereby rotate the shaft, a

slotted wheel rigidly attached to the shaft, a resilient band loopedaround the shaft and hooked into the slotted wheel, said band also beingattached to the casing so that as the shaft is rotated by said shaftoperating means the band will coil itself up around the shaft into aplurality of stretched substantially circular turns, means within thecasing for holding the shaft stationary when manual rotation isdiscontinued, the frictional engagement between the elastic element andthe shaft being of such nature that when the elastic element is heldstationary after the band is wound into a series of stretchedconvolutions the shaft will operatively slip with respect to the elasticelement and the band will unwind itself, and means within the casingactuable responsive to the rotation of the shaft for producingmechanical movement.

8. A motor for toy watches and the like comprising a hollow casing, ashaft operatively mounted in the easing, shaft-operating means mountedon and projecting externally of the casing and operatively associatedwith the shaft by which the shaft may be manually turned, an elasticelement secured to said shaft-operating means, said shaft extendingbodily through the elastic element whereby the elastic element will gripthe shaft annularly due to normal contraction for frictional engagementtherewith so that when said shaft-operating means is manually rotatedthe elastic element will in effect attach itself to the shaft forrotation therewith and thereby rotate the shaft, a resilient bandoperatively connected to the shaft and also attached to the casing sothat as the shaft is rotated by said shaft operating means the band willcoil itself up around the shaft into a plurality of stretchedsubstantially circular turns, means within the casing for holding theshaft-operating means stationary when man ual rotation is discontinued,the frictional engagement between the elastic element and the shaftbeing of such nature that when the shaft-operating means is heldstationary after the band is wound into a series of stretchedconvolutions the shaft will operatively slip with respect to the elasticelement and the resilient band will unwind itself producing rotation ofsaid shaft, and means within the casing actuable responsive to rotationof the shaft for producing mechanical movement.

9. A device in accordance with claim 8 and further comprising a handrotatably mounted in the casing, and driving means operativelyconnecting the hand and the shaft so that the hand will rotateresponsive to rotation of the shaft.

10. A device in accordance with claim 8 and further comprising a handrotatably mounted in the casing, a disc rigidly fastened to the hand, afriction element mounted on the disc, and a wheel rigidly mounted on theshaft for peripheral engagement with the friction element whereby thedisc and hand will rotate responsive to rotation of the shaft.

11. A device in accordance with claim 8 and further comprising a handrotatably mounted in the casing, a disc rigidly fastened to the hand, afelt ring mounted on the disc, and a Wheel rigidly mounted on the shaftfor peripheral engagement with the felt ring whereby the disc and handwill rotate responsive to rotation of the shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,667,738 Eichholz Feb. 2, 1954

